>> NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery Set to Land Friday
6 p.m. CST Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006
> Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
>> 12.21.06
> STATUS REPORT: STS-116-25
>> STS-116 MCC Status Report #25
>> Discovery’s astronauts completed preparations for a planned return to
> Earth on Friday and received word from Mission Control that their
> final inspection showed the shuttle’s heat shield is in good shape.
>> STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein, and Flight
> Engineer Bob Curbeam started checking out Discovery’s aerodynamic
> control surfaces at 9:31 a.m. CST, and test firing the shuttle's
> steering jets at 10:11 a.m. The commander and pilot also practiced
> landings on a laptop computer trainer, and performed final checks of
> the communications systems that will be used for landing.
>> A little later in the day, Mission Specialists Christer Fuglesang and
> Joan Higginbotham deployed a third small satellite from the shuttle’s
> cargo bay. The Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment (ANDE)
> microsatellite, ejected at 12:23 p.m., will gather information on
> atmospheric drag in low-Earth orbit. The first two microsatellites
> were deployed Wednesday.
>> Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick joined the rest of the crew in
> talking with reporters from CNN and ABC. Oefelein, who considers
> Anchorage, Alaska, to be his hometown, was the main focus of questions
> from students at the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska in Kenai.
>> Throughout the day, the crew took turns securing their gear for
> landing. The crew will awaken at 6:17 a.m. Friday, and begin final
> deorbit preparations at 9:48 a.m.
>> Entry Flight Director Norm Knight said landing sites at Kennedy Space
> Center, Fla.; Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; and White Sands Space
> Harbor, N.M., all will be activated to support landing. The Friday
> forecast calls for a chance of rain and low clouds at Kennedy;
> potential strong crosswinds at Edwards; and acceptable landing
> conditions at White Sands.
>> Knight said the entry team’s strategy will be to watch weather
> conditions carefully, focusing – in order – on the first landing
> opportunity in Florida, the second opportunities in Florida and
> California, and the third opportunities in California and New Mexico.
> A fourth California opportunity is available, but may not be used.
> Saturday landing opportunities are available at all three locations if
> weather prohibits a Friday landing.
>> Discovery’s first landing opportunity Friday is to Kennedy, beginning
> with a deorbit engine firing at 1:49 p.m. CST with wheels touching
> down at 2:56 p.m. CST. The next opportunity is to Edwards with an
> engine firing at 3:19 p.m. CST leading to a 4:27 p.m. touchdown. The
> first opportunity to land at White Sands begins with an engine firing
> at 3:20 p.m. CST leading to a touchdown in New Mexico at 4:27 p.m.
>> Opportunities also exist for Discovery to land at Edwards with an
> engine firing at 4:54 p.m. CST leading to touchdown at 6 p.m. CST. A
> second opportunity to land at White Sands begins with an engine firing
> by the shuttle at 4:57 p.m. CST leading to a 6:02 p.m.
>> touchdown. The final Friday landing opportunity is to Edwards,
> beginning with an engine firing at 6:32 p.m. CST leading to a
> touchdown at 7:36 p.m. CST.
>> Meanwhile, the Expedition 14 crew aboard the International Space
> Station, is settling back to normal operations with its new member,
> Flight Engineer Sunita Williams. Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and
> Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, are about halfway through their
> six-month increment. Williams, who arrived aboard Discovery, is just
> beginning her six months on the station. She’ll span the last half of
> Expedition 14 and the first half of Expedition 15.
>> The next STS-116 status report will be issued Friday morning or
> earlier if events warrant.
>> - end -
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